The evolution of color vision

Jacques van Helden

van-helden.j@univmed.fr
http://jacques.van-helden.perso.luminy.univmed.fr/
Color vision in Vertebrates
  In vertebrates, light is perceived at the
level of the retina, a layer of cells at the
rear of the eye.
  The retina contains two types of
photoreceptor cells.
  Cones allow us to distinguish colors.
  Rods are not informative about colors, but
they are more sensitive than cones and
have a higher densit in the retina. They
are invoved in the perception of shapes
(higher resolution) and night vision (high
sensitivity).

Illustrations : Jacobs, G. H. and Nathans, J. (2009). The evolution of

Primate color vision. Scientific American, 56-63.!
The visible spectrum

  Each photoreceptor cell perceives a specific range of wavelengths, with a peak

at a precise location.
  420 nanometers (nm) for blue-sensitive cones (also called short-wave sensitive: SWS)
  489 nm for the rods
  534 nm for green-sensitive cones (medium-wave sensitive: MWS)
  564 nm for red-sensitive cones (long-wave sensitive: LWS)

http://fr.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cône_(biologie)

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visible_spectrum
Opsins
Modèle tridimensionnel du
pigment des cônes bleus.
(Structure PDB 1kpn affichée avec MacPyMol)
http://www.rcsb.org/pdb/files/1kpn.pdb
(Structure PDB 1kpn affichée avec JMol)
  The perception of light relies on the
presence, in cones and rods, of
specialized proteins called opsins.
  Opsins bind a small molecule called
retinol. The opsin-retinol complex is
called rhodopsin.
  Rhodopsin is a pigment, which has the
capability to capture specific wavelengths
in the visible spectra.
  The sequence of opsins determines the
structure of the protein, which in turn
determines the spectrum and the
sensitivity of the rhodopsin.
  The mutation of a few amino acids at
precise positions of the opsin can modify
the wavelength that is optimally detected
of an opsin (and thus change its
spectrum).

opsine
rétinol
Bulls don’t see frogs the same way as we do

  In Human, color perception relies on 3

types of cones, each having a higher
sensitivity to one different color.
  Blue (short wavelengths)
  Green (medium wavelengths)
  Red (long wavelengths)
  This kind of color vision relying on 3
photoreceptor types is called
trichromatic.
  Tichromatic vision can be found in most
primates living in Asia and Africa
(primates of the « old continent »).
  Most other Mammals (with a few
exceptions) have a dichromatic vision,
relying on two photoreceptors only.
  Blue (short wavelengths)
  Green (medium wavelengths)

Illustration: Jacobs, G. H. and Nathans, J. (2009). The evolution of

Primate color vision. Scientific American, 56-63.!
Bulls dont’ see toreros the same way as we do

  Traditionally, toreros shake a red cape to

stimulate the bulls in bullfighting.
  It would make no difference for the bull if
the cape would be green instead of red,
since rumnants do not distinguish green
from red.

http://ughetto.maisonnave.org/d/42-8/arenes

  Here is a simulation of what a bull

perceives when it sees the above image.
Disruption of some cones provokes daltonism
http://michelf.com/projets/sim-daltonisme/
Une image colorée   Daltonism is a genetic disease that
inactivates one or several cone types.
  The software tool sim-daltonisme
(http://michelf.com/projets/sim-daltonisme/)
simulates the effect of daltonism by
suppressing some color chanels from
a picture.
Sans les cônes rouges Sans les cônes verts

Sans les cônes bleus Vision monochromatique (sans cônes)

Relative to birds, all Human beings are Daltonian

Humain Pigeon   Fishes, reptiles, birds and

amphibians have a
tetrachromatic vision relying
on 4 pigments.
  Our capability to discriminate
colors is thus weaker than in
Abeille those species.
  We can hardly imagine how
a chicken (for example)
perceives an image.
Etourneau
  Evolution
  The ancestor species of all
Osorio et al. A review of the evolution of animal colour vision and visual communication signals. Vertebrates probably had a
Vision Res (2008) vol. 48 (20) pp. 2042-51 tetrachromatic vision.
  Mammals have lost two
types of cones, and their
vision thus became
dichromatic.
  The trichromatic vision of
primates results from a
secundary acquisition of a
third cone (red-sensitive).
Phylogeny of opsins
  The phylogenetic tree allows us to infer
the history of the opsin family.
  LWS Long-wave sensitive (red)
  SWS Short-wave sensitive
(blue/violet/ultra-violet)
  Rh1 rods
  Rh2 green-sensitive opsin in non-
mammalian vertebrates

Jacobs et al. Evolution of vertebrate colour vision. Clinical & experimental optometry :
journal of the Australian Optometrical Association (2004) vol. 87 (4-5) pp. 206-16
Supplementary material for the practicals
(some results)
Multiple alignment of opsin sequences
Phylogenetic tree of some opsins
Phylogenetic tree of red and blue opsins
  We used the Web tool Phylogeny.fr (http://phylogeny.lirmm.fr/), to infer an evolutionary tree
from a set of red- and blue-sensitive opsins.

Opsine bleue, insectes

Mammifères

Oiseau
Opsine bleue, vertébrés

Poissons

Un poisson incongru
Reptiles

Mammifères

Oiseau
Reptile
Bactracien
Opsine rouge, vertébrés
Lamproies

Poissons
Opsins in primates
Opsin-coding genes
  Multi-genomic
alignment of the
chromosomal region
containing LW and
MW opsin genes.
  Besides the LW
gene, we observe
two genes in tandem
coding for the MW
opsin.

http://ecrbrowser.dcode.org/xB.php?db=hg18&location=chrX:153138461-153151952